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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29264319">the inevitability of everything</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_paper_crane/pseuds/a_paper_crane'>a_paper_crane</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The X-Files</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Christmas, Date Night, F/M, Fluff, KFC, because i decided it was. yes its february as i write this, i still have a really loose grasp on their characters so its like. maybe a little ooc, like its not but it is. ok, oh and mulder is a massive sap. just thought you should know, this is my scully though and shes done with mulders shit, this is so dumb and cheesy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 13:26:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,179</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29264319</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_paper_crane/pseuds/a_paper_crane</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>He pulls into the empty parking lot just seconds after Scully does.  She waits for him, smiling over the roofs of the cars, and he has to look away for a moment to deal with it all.  Everything he’d ever done had led him here, standing outside of KFC in mid-December, with the person he believes is something like his soulmate.  If he told her that, she’d laugh at him.  He doesn’t mind, though — she has a nice laugh.</p><p>or: fox mulder hates paperwork</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Fox Mulder/Dana Scully</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>28</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>the inevitability of everything</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>i have only seen up to season 3 so for my sake this takes place then. i know there's like, big plot shit that happens but just. humor me.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The sun has set outside as Mulder twists a pencil between his fingers, poring over a casefile.  It’s the same absurdities he’s read hundreds of times; forgettably unforgettable, with just enough strangeness to make it into his filing cabinet.  Bright lights, time loss, and stealthy glares from his partner — the usual.  It’s the same story he has hundreds of copies of, almost verbatim.  Scully could tell him that.  But new cases have been few and far between as of late, so he finds himself sucked into old, dead leads.  Scully says it’s the holiday season, approaching with alarming speed.  People don’t have time to spin tales when they have festivities to attend.  Even she had brought in a frankly rather ugly miniature tree to place on the desk.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>It’s Christmas, Mulder,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she told him.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Forgive me for trying to bring some holiday cheer into your lair.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’s startled out of his focus as Scully sets a coffee cup in front of him.  “I’m not even halfway through my paperwork, so I figured you haven’t started yours yet.  Looks like a late night ahead.”  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She’s right and she knows it, but Mulder leans forward and puts his elbows on the desk — a lazy attempt to hide his best efforts at putting it off.  She doesn’t seem to notice this, but eyes the bag of sunflower seeds he’d come dangerously close to knocking over and raises her brows.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know me too well, Scully.”  He takes a sip.  It’s tooth-rottingly sweet, exactly the way he likes it.  He smiles at her.  “What do you say we blow this popsicle stand?  We can get the paperwork done some other time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mulder, it’s Thursday.  I don’t want to spend my Friday night at the office, and you’re already in hot water with Skinner after your, what, tenth trespassing charge?”  She has a point, but he isn’t in the mood for giving in.  “Next week,” she says, peering over her glasses in a rather accusatory way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mulder tucks his pencil behind his ear, leaning back in his chair again.  “I think the KFC is still open,” he states, trying to keep his voice neutral.  “I’ll pay.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She continues to stare at him, but he notices the corner of her lips quirk a bit — the beginning of a smile.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come on, Scully, aren’t you hungry?  You’ve been here since 6 this morning, and you barely ate lunch.”  She drops her gaze to her lap, a sure sign that he’s getting to her.  “Colonel Sanders is calling to you,” he says, lowering his voice to something near a growl for maximum effect.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fine,” Scully sighs as she stands.  She shrugs her coat on and rolls her eyes, playing annoyed to make him feel bad.  “I’ll meet you there.”  With that, she marches out of the office, coffee forgotten on the desk.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The drive, though short, feels oddly lonely without her in the passenger seat.  Mulder cranks up the radio to have something there, something to replace Scully’s voice.  It’s no murder scene he’s driving to, he knows, so there’s no reason for it to feel this empty, but he’s so used to having her there.  Even at the ends of some workdays, he drives her back to his apartment where they watch reruns of bad horror movies.  He has an inkling that’s the reason she was so worried about wasting a Friday at the office.  Now, though, Mulder listens to the weatherman talk about snow and tries to think of something else.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He pulls into the empty parking lot just seconds after Scully does.  She waits for him, smiling over the roofs of the cars, and he has to look away for a moment to deal with it all.  Everything he’d ever done had led him here, standing outside of KFC in mid-December, with the person he believes is something like his soulmate.  If he told her that, she’d laugh at him.  He doesn’t mind, though — she has a nice laugh.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once they’re sitting, she thanks him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What for?” he asks.  He knows what she’s going to say before she says it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Getting me out of there.  I’m so </span>
  <em>
    <span>tired</span>
  </em>
  <span>, all these reports might kill me.”  She takes a sip of her drink.  “If I don’t get to Skinner first.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mulder lets her joke, if it is one, hang in the air between them before he speaks again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you ever think about the inevitability of everything, Scully?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The way everything has led up to this.  How, maybe, if one of us did one little thing differently, we never would have met.”  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She pauses, gazing at some invisible point behind him as he looks her pointedly in the face.  “What brought this on?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ve just been thinking a lot lately,” he says, declining to mention that she’s the thing that’s occupied his mind.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s a scary thought,” Scully agrees, still avoiding Mulder’s eyes.  “I’m just glad we ended up where we did.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Are you, though?</span>
  </em>
  <span>  He wants to ask.  Since she’s met him, her life has, by any measure, gotten drastically worse.  She’s been abducted, two of her family members have died, she spends her time investigating spooks instead of passing her knowledge to the future of the Bureau, to barely scratch the surface.  But then, she’s right — she could be dead herself, if one standoff had gone just a little bit worse.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Me, too,” he says, and she finally looks him in the eye.  His hand sits on the table between them, and she reaches out to grab it.  Her thumb grazes the back of his palm and it’s everything he can do to not combust.  He squeezes her hand and shoots her a grin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They talk for a while longer, though it’s less heavy, a little further from the untreaded ground between them.  Scully tells him of her disappointment in the FBI’s next rising star; Mulder explains the Lone Gunmen’s latest escapades.  They stand to leave when Scully slips in a another mention of how tired she is, and their early morning tomorrow — a glance at the clock in the corner proves it’s later than they should be awake.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She stops him as they’re walking back to their cars, grabs his arm with nervous force.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know, Mulder, I’ve been meaning to tell you…”  She pauses, as if trying to find the words.  Maybe the courage.  He waits patiently, but is surprised when she grabs his shoulder and pulls herself up to kiss him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s short, but not gentle by any means.  With one hand on the back of his neck, she’s practically yanking him closer to her height, nearly knocking their teeth together.  He isn't sure where she got the nerve.  He's glad she did.  She breaks the kiss, takes a step back.  Her brow is furrowed, but her face softens when he starts to grin.  She glances away, her face a mask of conflicted emotions.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Goodnight, Mulder,” she says with a nod.  She’s gone in seconds, leaving him deserted and beaming.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You too, Scully,” he whispers to himself.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
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